Warrior Cats: The Four Clans

"Mm. Let's take the tandem. The mountain bikes are heavier - we wouldn't be able to go out for as long," she decided with a brisk nod. She pulled the bike out from where it leaned against the others, leaving it in the middle of the garage while she went inside to grab the keys, check to see that everything was off - stupid, because most of it was electricity, smart because if the gas stove was left on, it would spell disaster for them -and lock the door. She made a stop to the restroom, and then reentered the garage, closing the door behind her and grabbing her helmet off the shelf. She put it on and slipped her shoes on, bending to to tie them.

"Oh! Let's take a blanket, so we can have a picnic in the park! I'm sure that's where a lot of people are now." Might as well enjoy the sunshine if you couldn't watch t.v., right? She supposed that was what most of the other families were thinking. It was, after all, a beautiful day outside. Galdur held true to the thought that the electricity would come back on by evening, like any sane person would. And if not by evening, then soon. There wasn't any reason to panic, after all. This kind of thing happened all the time. Better to enjoy the day to themselves than spend the whole time worrying.

She grabbed the cooler they had in the garage and moved over to strap it onto the back of the tandem bike. "There. Let's get the ice first - it'll stay all day in this cooler. It's not that hot outside, anyway." Smiling, she waved at Eir to take the tandem bike out so she could close the garage door and lock it. "That's probably the fastest we've ever gotten out of the house, don't you think, brother?"

"Oh, they're not that bad. They have gears and everything, and we won't be lugging them around by hand." But he didn't argue the point further as he didn't really care either way.

Checking to make sure his wallet was in his pocket, Eir obliged his sister, rolling the tandem outside. "Oof," he grunted in mock exhaustion. "I'm glad we're taking the tandem if you want to bring this monster with us." He gestured at the cooler with a severe expression, even though it was one of the smaller varieties. "Gotta get more manpower on those pedals."

After Gladur had made the rounds of the house and locked the garage door, the two mounted the bike with ease born of practice and they pushed off down their driveway, turning into the street.

"Wow," he commented, glancing around, "there really aren't many cars out. Perhaps because it's too early for lunch and everyone who needs to go places has already set out."

The rest of the bike ride was spent in comfortable silence, the whistling of air interrupted by brief snatches of conversation, or by their pauses at stop signs. Despite their caution, there was no traffic, even as they neared the grocery market on the corner of the street. It was a queer district, he thought personally, where the residential area was flush up against the commercial district, and he wondered how the people in the houses nearby slept at night. He glanced down the street in question, and spotted people just as they crossed the threshold of a house. It seemed like other people were finding a way to occupy themselves, at least.

The store parking lot wasn't busy, with only a few cars parked around, and the twins made their way slowly to the bike rack. Dismounting, Eir knelt to secure their bike before leading the way into the store.

Galdur locked up the bike and took the cooler off with a grunt, dropping it into one of the shopping carts nearby. "A five-pound bag of ice should do, don't you think?" The question was more rhetorical than anything, really, since a heavier bag of ice would make navigating the bike an even more difficult process. As she pushed the cart into the store, she realized that there were more people in here than usual, despite the darkened state of the room. Yet everyone was polite, calm, and even friendly. Normally, people would go into the store, mind their own business, and go out as soon as they finished. Now, everyone was chatting, mentioning how they had been let off from work, or had been unable to work from home and so came out here, and how they would go on a picnic today, and so on.

It was refreshing, seeing how people actually interacted kindly once the power went out. No one was absorbed in their own worlds, texting while walking, on the phone while at the cashier. Maybe this power outage was good for them. Galdur found herself grinning from ear to ear as she watched this, and pushed the cart to the back of the store, where the ice was. "Do we need anything other than ice? We can keep it cold in the cooler if we need to," she said, smiling and nodding at some of the neighbors she recognized.

"Oh! Eir, and Galdur! How are you two doing today?" Another neighbor asked. Galdur smiled - they were always called together, like a unit, because most people feared getting the wrong twin - and stopped pushing the cart.

"We're doing fine. Mother was out doing errands, and Father is at work, so we're going to go have a picnic in the park! Or maybe just bike around," she laughed. "How are you, Mr. Stevenson?"

"Fine, fine. I can't work at home now that the power is out, so I might as well buy some groceries. The kids will want to go out too, I'm betting. Maybe we'll see you at the park!"

"Maybe! Have a good day, Mr. Stevenson!" she called as they walked away again. "Surprising, isn't it, brother? The power goes out, and instead of being frustrated and irritable, everyone is cheerful and considerate!"

"Mm, yes! Let's get candy, and steak! Why not have both?" A smile. "But we can't carry too much more, so I guess that should be it. And besides, I'm sure other people started out with less in their refrigerators. It would be good to be considerate of them." She headed out to the cashier once they'd gotten the food, putting the ice on top of the cooler. Smiling warmly at the man who was doing all the money-work by hand, she waited until he announced the total cost: $12.57. She gave him fifteen and told him she didn't want the change. After all, he was competent in math - something many cashiers weren't - and in a wonderful disposition, considering all the extra work he had to deal with. She hoped he was being paid overtime, but she had no clue if he really was. "Keep the change, Mr. Have a nice day!"

Loading all the food into the cooler, even the candy - for convenience - she waited until Eir could help her lift the cooler and tie it to the bike. She probably could if she'd been truly eager to, but then, what was the point of overexerting herself if she didn't have to? Besides, they worked better in tandem anyway. They put the cooler on and tied it to the back of the bike with rubber cables, when she realized that there were not many cars in the parking lot. Certainly not enough to account for the number of people inside the store. Maybe it was national Be-Green Day?

"Shall we go to the park, then, brother? The lake must be such a fine blue today," she added, trailing off wistfully. She swung a leg over the front seat of the bike, putting her hands on the handles and waiting for Eir to return the cart and get on himself. "I know we said we'd go into town, but, well, it's so pretty down there..."